The Muppets, "Pig Girls Don't Cry"

Of all the people to breath some new life into the no-so-novel-anymore mockumentary sitcom, it turns out not to be actual humans at all. But anyone familiar with the Muppets should have expected nothing less. The Muppet Show arguably pioneered the behind-the-scenes spoof nearly four decades ago, and Jim Henson’s creations were masters at breaking down the fourth wall before the term “fourth wall” was even in the lexicon. And this show is new territory for the Muppets? Please! They practically invented this stuff.

The show takes place behind the scenes of a fictional late-night show hosted by Miss Piggy (Eric Jacobson). Kermit the Frog (Steve Whitmire), who’s now on the outs with Piggy and dating another swine coworker (Julianne Buescher), is the show’s producer, and the rest of the bunch all serve different roles in the production. As with similar fake docs, cameras follow them around recording their work and personal lives, with some solitary interviews thrown in. In this premiere episode, said personal storylines focus on Fozzie Bear (Jacobsen again) trying to win the acceptance of his human girlfriends’ parents, a well-worn sitcom plot turned on its head into a funny arc.

In their revival in the last half-decade or so, the Muppets have never seemed like an empty nostalgia trip. Instead of lost in the current time period like many an aging star who return to a world different from when they faded, they have a full grasp of current pop culture and can spin it into laughs. Such is very apparent here. Not only does it rip on itself and the genre it’s part of, but it integrates celebrity cameos and current pop culture in funny ways, alongside the timeless Muppet slapstick, absurdity, wit, and goofy playfulness. As for those reports of it veering into more adult territory, fans can rest easy: they’re well on the abstract side, never veering into cynicism or Avenue Q risqué. Adults will laugh while kids won’t suspect a thing, and the characters you grew up with are the same as they ever were.

Well, kind of. The episode portrays Kermit, ever the wet blanket who in prior vehicles never seemed mad even when he was mad, as slightly more aggressive, and cutthroat in the necessary Hollywood way. It looks at times like so many years of buried frustrations are about to explode. That in itself would be a sight to see, and it’s suggests the possibility that we might get to see the characters we love grow and evolve. But whether that happens or not, the jokes and great fun are enough to keep me watching.